


Stardust

by Unknown_Weeb



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Comfort/Angst, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, References to Depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Senku is actually good at comforting people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:01:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24220072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unknown_Weeb/pseuds/Unknown_Weeb
Summary: Senku knows this absence all too well, it happens during winter the most. Gen wasn't with him much, meaning only one thing.Gen suffers with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), and mild depression. Mix that with pining, and Gen is a disaster.----------This was inspired but a tumblr post that I saw on instagram a few days ago.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu
Comments: 14
Kudos: 167





	Stardust

Gen had been acting strange recently. He would avoid the locals, excuse himself from conversations, and stay in his hut for long periods of time when he wasn't being of much use around the construction yard. But, no one could figure out why.  
He wore a bright smile, his eyes shone with life, and his step had a skip in it. Yet, there was something missing. Something that only the mentalist could figure out for himself.  
But, unbeknownst to the bi-colour haired man, one scientist had taken notice of his absence. And it bugged him. Senku would notice the drop of his smile, the light in his eyes fading, as he walked away with slumped shoulders and a bowed head. But he tried to think nothing of it. He had faith that the mentalist would sort himself out; as he usually did.

Days passed, soon rolling into weeks, and Gen remained the same. Each morning he would plaster on a bright smile, that never reached his eyes: Senku had noticed, even if he didn't act like it.  
The scientist grew concerned as winter rolled in. It started with a few days of heavy rain, leaving construction on the ship void, before it soon turned into snow, coating the fields and land in a pristine white blanket. During the colder days, Gen stayed inside more than normal, and only really showed his face during meal times.

Maybe it was the lack of company Senku missed, or the witty and silly replies Gen always seemed to snap back with. But, maybe it was also his smile, and a glow in his eyes that hinted at mischief and energy lighting up any room he walked into.  
Senku found himself longing for the mentalist to return to his normal self. Wanting the company: wanting to feel Gen watching him over his shoulder asking questions about Senku's latest blueprints. He couldn't focus on the task at hand, and that was a problem. So to fix the issue, as he usually does, Senku stood up from the table in the lab. He made his way through the work area, towards the hut he knew Gen would be in and tapped on the door.

"Gen? It's me. Can I come in?" Senku called softly, as to not startle the mentalist. He knew these depressive episodes all too well, and only wished he could do more for his friend when they struck. But, he was never good with dealing with other peoples emotions. He could barely deal with his own half the time, what with restoring civilisation and all that.

Senku heard a small shuffle, before the door opened slightly and Gen peeked his head round, looking at the scientist through a small crack. "What are you doing here, Senku-chan? Isn't there work to be done?" An obviously fake smile made it's way onto Gen's face.

In return, Senku offered him a sad smile. "Drop the act, dumbass." He sighed, shaking his head. "You going to let me in or not?" Senku tapped his knuckle against the door again, raising a brow at Gen.

"Fine, fine." The mentalist sighed in defeat, opening the door wider so Senku could come in. A moment later, he found himself laughing softly.

With a puzzled face, Senku shut the door and turned to him. "What?" He asked, stepping forward.

Gen just shook his head, "sorry, sorry. It's just... doors. We use the same... language using doors as we did in the old world. Like only opening it a small way if we're not expecting company, and stuff like that." He told the scientist, his smile instantly fading once he had finished speaking.

"Oh. I guess we do." Senku shrugged, sitting down by the stove that had a kettle sat atop it. "Trust the mentalist to think of something like that." He smiled, watching Gen as he grabbed another cup.

Gen joined his side by the stove. "May I ask what you need me for?" He mumbled out, reaching for the pot of hot water. He began to stir in a few sprigs of chamomile he had gathered and dried out.

"I actually came to check on you, Gen." Senku spoke, leaning forward slightly to see the other man's face. "You feeling okay?"

The mentalist lowered his head further, using his white bangs to hide his face. "No. Not really." He mumbled, a few stray tears falling from his eyes as he tried to blink them away.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Senku breathed out, taking the steaming pot from Gen's other hand.

Gen let out a heavy, breath-like laugh, pulling his knees to his chest. "I'll be fine. You know how this goes by now." He turned to glance at Senku with a sad smile, which was only made more heartbreaking by the tears flowing down his cheeks.

"Gen..." Senku put the pot down, reaching for his friends hands to hold in his own. "We always have this talk. You don't need to hide away like this." He whispered, closing his hands around the mentalist's own. Senku was being more touchy than he usually is, Gen noted; still habitually reading the people around him. His eyes trailed down to their joined hands, a look of longing in his eyes, before quickly pulling them away and shoving them deep into his sleeves. "Sorry, was that too much?" Senku asked, a small frown on his face. He knew Gen got slightly weird with touching people when he felt this way.

"No..." Gen blurted out, shaking his head. "No, it's not like that. I'm sorry." He mumbled, lowering his hands to rest on his legs. "I'm sorry I've been so useless." He muttered, lowering his head slightly in shame.

The scientist poured the tea, handing a cup to Gen with a shrug and a smile. "Don't apologise for that. You still push yourself to do what you can, even when we tell you to stop."

Gen took the cup from his hands, "If I don't have something to do, well..." he paused, shaking the thought from his head. "Being alone with your thoughts can be scary sometimes, so I try to keep busy." He finally said, lifting the cup to his lips.

With a nod, Senku placed his hand out: signalling he wanted Gen's hand. And, reluctantly, Gen reached out too. Using his other hand, Senku pulled up Gen's sleeve and used his finger to trace along the large, blue vein in his wrist. "Y'see this?" He mumbled quietly, gesturing to the vein. Gen nodded, slightly confused, as he placed his cup down on the floor. "Well, here's a fact just for you." Senku smirked, his eyes trailing over the pale skin of Gen's hand. "Your blood, that's being pumped through your body at around three maybe four, miles per hour, has something called Hemoglobin in it. Do you want do know what that's made of?" He asked, looking up to meet Gen's confused, grey eyes. Gen gave a small nod, watching Senku's every move, with a frown. "Iron atoms." Senku voice was so gentle, so quiet, Gen almost didn't realise what he had said.

"Iron... atoms? What's so amazing about that? Isn't that why blood tastes like iron?" He asked, completely dumbfounded.

With a soft laugh, the scientist nodded. "Ten billion points, mentalist, that's right." He smirked, rubbing his thumb against the back of Gen's hand softly. "But, do you know how iron atoms are made?" Senku asked, his smirk changing to a genuine and kind smile. The warmth from his smile made Gen completely forget himself for a moment, just wanting to savour that smile a while longer. He shook his head a moment later. "They're only formed by a supernova. One of the most amazing and beautiful things to ever happen in the universe." He explained, lifting his hand to cup Gen's cheek and brush away any tears left. "They're... stardust, basically. And this very specific load of iron atoms happen to belong to someone I appreciate a lot." 

Gen finally lifted his head to fully look at Senku, an expression of shock written across his face. "That's..." he glanced down at his vein, running a finger along it. "That's the most... romantic thing anyone could ever say. Why waste that on me?" He asked quietly.

Senku gently poked Gen's cheek, "maybe that was my intention. Nothing's really wasted on the people you love, right?" With that, Senku picked up his cup of tea and took a long sip.

It took Gen a moment, but when he realised what Senku was implying, a weight lifted from his shoulders. "Wait, seriously?" He asked, not fully believing the other. All this time he had been beating himself up for catching feelings for the scientist, believing that Senku would never want a relationship with anyone. Which was only made worse by a case of seasonal depression.

Senku nodded, confirming Gen's question. "You feeling any better?" He asked gently taking Gen's hand back into his own. Gen nodded, still slightly shocked from Senku's sudden confession. "Good, I'm glad that helped." He smiled, lifting his hand to ruffle Gen's hair. "Think about that the next time your thoughts get a little scary, okay?"

"Thank you, Senku-chan." For the first time in a while, Gen smiled a real smile. Not one fueled by a moment of sudden laughter, or masking his pain. No, this one reached his eyes, igniting that light Senku missed so much. It showed happiness.  
Senku was pretty proud of himself for bringing that smile back, and he would gladly do his best to do it again.


End file.
